In the immediate aftermath of the Blue Jackets’ season-ending loss, one player stood tall with a mix of pride and disappointment.

Jack Johnson appreciated the fans at Nationwide Arena saluting the team’s effort as Game 6 and a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series ended last night in a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Johnson, however, also flashed the leadership qualities that personified how far the team has come since the defenseman arrived two years ago.

“By no means are the guys happy about losing in the first round,” he said. “It’s pretty disappointing. We know we’re going to have to be bigger and better.”

Johnson played with the same drive and determination throughout the taut series that he showed since the Los Angeles Kings sent him to the Jackets at the 2012 trade deadline for disgruntled forward Jeff Carter.

Johnson had two assists while being on the ice for 30:47 of last night’s 60 minutes, a total that was three minutes more than any other player for either team. He led the Jackets with seven points in the series, on three goals and four assists.

“I’m proud of all the guys in here,” Johnson said. “There’s not one guy who didn’t give an all-out effort. Are we satisfied? Obviously not. Our goal wasn’t to lose in the first round.”

From the start of the series, Johnson bristled at talk about whether the Blue Jackets could keep up with the second-seeded Penguins.

“We had higher expectations of ourselves than anyone,” Johnson said. “I am sure we gave (the Penguins) all they could handle, but it was not enough for us.”

Johnson brought those high expectations with him from Los Angeles, and he has maintained them throughout the Blue Jackets’ rise.

“It can happen quickly, before people realize it,” he said. “First you have to set the bar in the room, and it goes on from there. That’s how it should be in sports. Players should expect to win.”

Now, Johnson expects more from himself and the Blue Jackets next season.

“We set the bar as high as it could possibly be in here,” he said. “We’ll come back better and stronger next year. We don’t want to be a flash in the pan. We want to be a perennial winner, year in and year out. We want to have people talking about us as contenders. We want to make a deep playoff run.”

Atkinson springs for tickets

Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson paid a surprise visit to a group of fans camped out for last-minute, discounted tickets near the Nationwide Arena box office late Sunday.

Not only did Atkinson stop by for a chat, he paid for the tickets, distributing $400 among the group.

“Well, I had to borrow some money from my dad, but there was an ATM right there,” Atkinson said. “So I paid him back.”

Atkinson was having dinner with his father at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse near the arena when his girlfriend, Natalie Malone, rang to say that fans were already lining up to buy tickets that didn’t go on sale until 5 p.m. yesterday.

“She’s always on Twitter, looking at all the fans,” Atkinson said. “She let me know that I should at least stop by and say thank you. I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Shuffled deck

Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards made two lineup changes last night, inserting right wing Jared Boll and defenseman Nick Schultz in place of R.J. Umberger and Nikita Nikitin.

Umberger aggravated a shoulder injury and Nikitin suffered an undisclosed injury on Saturday in Game 5.

Boll, who last played in Game 1, skated on the fourth line, with Blake Comeau moving up to take Umberger’s spot on the third line. Schultz was paired with defenseman James Wisniewski for the first time since he was acquired from Edmonton on March 5.

Slap shots

Brad Treliving, a former Columbus Chill defenseman, was named general manager of the Calgary Flames yesterday. Treliving was a longtime assistant general manager for the Phoenix Coyotes who played parts of three seasons for the Chill, of the East Coast Hockey League, from 1991 to ’95. … Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik missed a second straight game because of an undisclosed injury. Robert Bortuzzo replaced him. … The Fox Sports Ohio broadcast of Game 5 drew an 8.08 rating locally, the second-highest in team history. That is the equivalent of about 75,000 households.

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